The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

He perceives Hassan as a “loyal Hazara. Loyal as a dog.” (72). Amir’s selfish nature contrasts Hassan’s total dedication to his master. The young slave often sacrifices himself for Amir, the selfish teenager who stood by and watched a raping occur to his “friend.” Menial tasks like preparing breakfast and catching the blue kite show Hassan’s self-less nature. In return, Amir alienated him and plotted his banishment from the estate. The young Pashtun’s actions left him to be perceived as a cruel master, compared to his “saint-like” slave.

The novel The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, is the story of a young, upper class boy by the name of Amir and his friend, a lower class boy named Hassan. While Amir is a Pashtun and a Sunni Muslim, Hassan is a Hazara and a Shi’a muslim, which causes the main conflict between the two. Amir and Hassan learn more and more about their social status, as well as their personal friendships and problems as they grow up in Afghanistan.

Baba always purchases identical kites for both Amir and Hassan. Amir is not happy about being treated the same as Hassan stating “Sometimes I wish he wouldn’t do that. Wished he’d let me be the favourite. This reinforces the jealousy that Amir has and introduces and demonstrates Amir’s desperation to win and earn Baba’s love. This section identifies Hassan clearly as the kite runner as he was “by far the greatest kite runner” Amir had ever seen. (pg 46).

At the beginning of the novel, young Amir quickly learns how one poor decision can entirely change the way someone lives. He beloved best friend Hassan was loyal and would happily fulfill any request Amir asked of him, but when Amir started to notice his father, Baba, giving Hassan more attention, he grew envious. When the time came that Hassan desperately needed Amir’s assistance, Amir turned his cheek and took the easy way out.

Finding redemption is often the only way many people can escape the demons of their past. Actions have consequences and those consequences haunt people for the duration of their lives. Khaled Hosseini, the author of The Kite Runner, presents seeking redemption throughout his novel by sharing the breathtaking story of Amir, a Sunni boy who struggles to forget his guilt­ridden past. Despite his greatest efforts, Amir finds it impossible to bury his past, so he returns to his home Kabul, Afghanistan to redeem himself of his wrong doings. By incorporating

Hassan is hurt and frustrated by the way Amir treats him after the betrayal, but he never blames Amir for the way he acted. He never forgets about Amir and remains his faithful servant and loving friend until his he is killed by Taliban soldiers, even though Amir and Hassan's paths

Hosseini shows this through his use of words to portray Amir's fear and cowardice. Amir says, “I ran because I was a coward. I was afraid of Assef and what he would do to me. I was afraid of getting hurt. That’s what I told myself as I turned my back to the alley, to Hassan” (Hosseini 77). The author reveals this to show the thought process of Amir’s decision to betray Hassan which stalks him in the days to come. Amir allows fear to get in the way of him sticking up for Hassan which leads to his feeling of shame in the future when Ali and Hassan leaves Kabul. Ali says, “We are leaving….Life here is impossible for us now….” (Hosseini 106). Amir then says, “That was when I understood the depth of pain I had caused, the blackness of the grief I had brought onto everyone….” (Hosseini 107). Amir’s selfishness, fear, and cowardice developed the destruction of his brotherly relationship between him and Hassan which causes the regret he feels toward

Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner is a fascinating book that through the story it releases a remorse content. Amirs character in the novel centers on Amir struggling throughout his life. When we discover how the winter of 1975 in Kabul makes Amir Jan become guilty of his actions. Amir is a character who Hosseini makes us feel compassion for. Amir has conflicted feelings toward his father, Baba, and especially his best friend servant, Hassan. Amir attempts to avoid his guilt, but it does nothing to help him redeem himself and therefore his guilt remains. That is why every time he hears his friend's name, Hassan, he quivers from the flashbacks he gets. Making us grasp how Amir stops himself from actually moving on and achieving more, proving that a life

In the beginning he is a scared boy torturing himself with memories of his cowardness and unloyalty. Amir doesn't rescue Hassan when he is being bullied and traumatized. Instead of him owning up to his actions he decides to hide his cowardice and get rid of Hassan. He tries to make Hassan look like a thief, which cause the discharge of the family servant. Amir states, “he was just a hazara, wasn't he?” Amir tries to explain his actions. Amir never learned defend himself or anybody else in any way because Hassan always took up for him and took blame. Throughout this tragic part, Amir’s character can most likely be described as cowardly and selfish. He feels as though he shouldn't be suffering, so he thinks if he if he doesn't see Hassan he wouldn't be reminded of the incident. In this part Amir is also young minded because he should be worrying about how help Hassan deal with what happened.

Amir commits a serious act of betrayal against Hassan during his childhood, one that affects Amir’s decisions

The consequences of the past are inescapable and the choices a person makes can influence the rest of his life. There is no way to change the past, so once important choices are made it is impossible to reverse time and change those decisions. Khaled Hosseini explores this idea of having to live with past decisions in his compelling novel The Kite Runner. To enforce the message of how inescapable the past truly is, the main character of Hosseini’s book, Amir, betrays his closest friend and struggles to cope with the haunting consequences of this betrayal. Through Amir’s complex character development and The Kite Runner’s distinctive plot structure, those who read the novel gain a deeper understanding of Amir’s decisions as a result of his past mistakes via Hosseini’s use of foreshadowing and flashbacks. By creating a unique relationship between the past and present in the novel, Hosseini urges readers to ponder the consequences of mistakes and reflect on their own past.

This view is carried out with the supportive character, Hassan, who plays a significant role in the novel by representing a Christ figure who is forever forgiving of Amir. Hassan is the, “harelipped kite runner” whose only friend is Amir (Hosseini 2). Hassan demonstrates the themes of second chances and forgiveness through his actions of kindness. For example, when Assef and his gang come to torment Amir, Hassan comes to the rescue with his slingshot. Although Amir never considers him to be his friend, Hassan proves to be a flawless servant to his half-brother, even after Amir betrays him. Throughout the story, Amir remembers Hassan by his kind-hearted phrase, “For you, a thousand times over,” which evidences how magnanimous and

Amir seems to be a very selfish person who will avoid any conflict that does not involve him. Amir is the son of Baba and Hassan's best friend. Even though Hassan and Amir are great friends, Amir seems to take their friendship for granted. On the day of the kite running tournament, Hassan gets mixed up with gang who intend to rape him. They proceed to do so as Amir sits at the sidelines and watches. Amir says, ¨I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan--the way he’d stood up for me all those times in the past--and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. In the end I ran. I ran because I was a coward. I was afraid of Assef and what he would do to me.¨ (Hosseini 77) Amir has the option to help his friend who has been with him through thick and thin, but afraid of his own personal safety, he runs. Leaving Hassan completely alone and helpless. Amir also desires attention from his father and will think or do awful things to get it. Amir says, “I’d, ask Ali where Baba was, when he was coming home, though I know full well he was at the construction site over-looking this, supervising that. Didn't that take patience? I already hated all the kids he was building the orphanage for; sometimes I’d wish they'd all die along with their parents.” In Amir's mind, getting Baba’s attention is all that matters. Sacrificing others for his own gain becomes a habit of his. Amir is aware of his selfishness and in someway wants to make up for it.

The worse thing is that when Hassan brought the kite back home, Amir cared more about the kite, then about Hassan, his ‘closest friend’. He did not even bother to ask if his friend was feeling well. This shows that Amir is selfish and not courageous. Amir must live the rest of his life filled with guilt and shame.

Consequently, Amir’s constantly struggles to maintain a solid relationship with his father. Regarding Hassan’s role, I believe that he is somehow a symbol of purity, innocence and loyalty as his actions are based on defending Amir who is not only seen as his best friend but also as